The invention is directed to a dual action canteen that may conveniently be carried on camping trips, picnics, games and the like, which is capable of holding two different liquid drinks, such as water, lemonade, and other drinks, one of which may be initially frozen in a freezer to act as a coolant for the other as the frozen drink melts during the outing. The frozen drink is contained in a tubular cartridge which is removably attached to the underside of the cover of the container and extends down into a liquid drink contained in the container. After the frozen drink has melted, the tubular cartridge may be removed and the previously frozen drink may be drink consumed through an open neck formed in the capsule.
The dual action canteen of the invention serves not only as a container for two types of liquid drinks, but it also acts as a cooler for one of the drinks, with the other drink being initially frozen to cool the first drink as it melts in the canteen, and to be consumed after it has melted.
The canteen of the invention acts as a cooler but obviates any need for dangerous chemical refrigerants, and it is safe for children to use. The canteen also serves to keep the drink in the container cool without any dilution of the drink and without the need for messy ice cubes.
The canteen of the invention in the specific embodiment illustrated herein and to be described is similar in some respects to the canteen disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,140 which issued May 15, 1990. The canteen described in the patent is cylindrical in shape with an open top and a cover threaded to the open top. A latched cap is pivotally mounted on the cover, which when closed engages the upper end of a spring-loaded tubular member that extends down into the interior of the canteen. Accordingly, the pivotally mounted cap normally holds the tubular member down in a retracted position. However, when the latch is released, the cap pivots upwardly, and the tubular member pops up through the cover so that the liquid which is contained in the canteen may be sucked through the tubular member.
A tubular cartridge is removably mounted in a bushing formed on the underside of the cover of the canteen of the present invention, and the cartridge is frictionally held in the bushing in a position to extend down into the first drink in the container. The cartridge may previously be filled with a second drink and placed in a freezer to freeze the second drink prior to being mounted in the canteen. Then, when the canteen is to be used, the cartridge is removed from the freezer and mounted in place under the cover of the canteen. The canteen is filled with the first drink, and the cover is then screwed into place with the capsule extending down into the first drink.
During the outing, the second drink inside the capsule melts and may subsequently be drunk through a neck formed in the open top of the capsule after the cover has been unscrewed from the canteen and the capsule removed from the bushing. The liquid drink within the canteen is cooled by the frozen drink in the capsule and may be drunk at any time by opening the latched cap and sucking the cooled drink through the tubular member in its popped up condition.